5, 1998. On July 7, 1998, the Independence, CVW-5 and VFA-195 left Japan to swap with the Kitty Hawk, which was to become the new home of CVW-5. The Independence arrived at Pearl Harbor on July 17. During the cross-deck, VFA-195 replaced its F/A-18Cs with the F/A-18C (N) Night Attack Hornet. At 7:00AM on July 24, 1998, VFA-195 and CVW-5 along with the Kitty Hawk departed Pearl Harbor for Japan while the Independence went into retirement in the Puget Sound, Washington State. VFA-195 arrived back on August 11. 2000s VFA-195 flew in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, striking targets deep in Afghanistan. VFA-195 called on for duty when on January 23, 2003, VFA-195 deployed off the coast of North Korea in the face of tensions over the latter's nuclear weapons program, as well as preventing North Korea from taking advantage of the deployment of US forces to the Persian Gulf that year. In February, VFA-195 and the Kitty Hawk headed to the Persian Gulf to take part in Southern Watch for the last time. On March 19, 2003, as part of the first night attacks of Operation Iraqi Freedom, eight F/A-18C (N)s from VFA-195 along with F-14As from VF-154 and Night Attack Hornets from VFA-192 attacked SAM sites in Western Iraq. On April 2, 2003, NF-405, an F/A-18C (N) from VFA-195; was shot down by a Patriot PAC-2 SAM Site in a Friendly Fire incident while in support of Coalition Forces approaching Baghdad, killing the pilot. The squadron would go on to fly 278 combat sorties in support of Iraqi Freedom, delivered 179,000 pounds of precision guided munitions against military targets over the course of a single month. On April 23, 2003, Iraqi Freedom was over for VFA-195, CVW-5 and the Kitty Hawk, heading back to Japan from then on. Starting on May 7, 2004, as a result of VFA-27 transitioning to the F/A-18E Super Hornet, VFA-27's F/A-18C (N)s were given to VFA-192. As a result, VFA-195 received VFA-192 Night Attack Hornets as well as VMFA-212 at MCAS Iwakuni. On July 19, VFA-195 and the rest of CVW-5 as well as the Kitty Hawk deployed to the Western Pacific to take part in Summer Pulse 2004, a Naval Exercise involving 7 Carrier Battle Groups including the Kitty Hawk CVBG. During the Exercise, VFA-195 and CVW-5 worked alongside the John C. Stennis and CVW-14, taking part in JASEX 04,